A devastating knee injury brought an end to Bethanie Mattek-Sands’ Wimbledon campaign on Thursday, after she fell during her match against Sorana Cirstea.

The 32-year-old American took the first set 6-4 and had just dropped the second-set tie-break 7-4 to the Romanian when she attempted to rush the net, only for her right knee to buckle in a split-step.

It was a cruel end to her singles campaign - but more disappointing was the premature end to her doubles campaign where she and Lucie Safarova were bidding to complete the career Grand Slam.

The five-time Grand Slam doubles champion was the top seed with the Czech in the ladies’ doubles.

Safarova rushed to Court 17 upon hearing the news and was sobbing as Mattek-Sands was taken to hospital.

Cirstea knows all too well what her opponent was going through having spent a lengthy stint out of the game with a serious shoulder injury. She had earlier taken a medical timeout on the troublesome shoulder and was quick to rush to Mattek-Sands’ side upon hearing her opponent’s cries for help.

"It's not easy because at the end of the day it's not about tennis any more," Cirstea said later. "We are like a family. You want everyone to be OK. It doesn't matter you win, you lose, once you are out, you want them to be OK.

"So, yeah, I hope is not as bad that it seemed, and she can have a quick, quick recovery. I'm very sad about everything that happened."

Mattek-Sands had previously suffered a torn medial collateral ligament (MCL) injury on the same knee in September 2013.